Fun Summer Art Project

In the past couple of years, my observation has been that more artists are producing pieces using recycled or found objects. Either they do it out of environmental concern, the desire to be frugally creative, or to simply impress the world with the art they can create out of every-day things that surround them. For me, all three motives tie into my recycled artwork, alongside my desire to use my craft skills in a non-conventional way.

Today I'll be focusing on hanging wall-art. Although most of us don't think about it, almost every frame has a sheet of cardboard in the back, pressing the contained piece to the glass. This is usually hidden from human eyes, and the old saying, "out of sight, out of mind" holds true. Sure, we could condemn cardboard as tacky, but I began to see hanging cardboard as an overlooked idea. Why not make artwork out of the frame?

       Some basic materials for this project include:
       -Smooth, undamaged cardboard
       -Old yarn, string, lace, fabric
 -Scraps of craft paper, plastic, old notebook covers, etc.
 -Tea wrappers & sterile food packaging                                            
 -Elmer's glue & hot glue
 -Scissors
 -Needle & thread, if needed
 -Butcher Paper
 -Acrylic paint & brushes


This kind of project is fairly open-ended, but one thing is sure: you'll want to try to form a balanced composition out of the objects you find. I spent the first few minutes of each project rearranging scraps over the work surface, cutting them, reshaping them, until I was satisfied.
Second, it's important to establish a slightly more professional quality to your piece, especially considering that it's made out of "trash." One way of giving it a clean edge--literally--is to cut the butcher paper into 1-inch strips and glue it around the sides of the cardboard to hide the corrugation. To avoid a wrinkly gluing job, I would recommend using a paintbrush to apply the glue and smooth it over. (Just remember not to let the brush dry with the glue in it! :) ) Once dry, the butcher paper blends in with the cardboard and you're left with a clean, smooth plane.

From here on out it's up to you to glue down the recycled elements carefully (and if you're using hot glue, quickly) and make sure everything is attached securely. If you're going to use acrylic as part of your composition, I would apply it early on in the layering process, unless you want it to overlap fabrics and papers.You can also sew, knit, knot-tie, weave, or do any other method of embellishing, if you want.

Lastly, it's important to fix your artwork to hang on a wall. Since this was a recycled-art project, I used a soda-can tab and gorilla glue as a fixture on the back. The glue takes about 2 hours to dry, so it's not a bad idea to check on the tab and make sure it's level during the process. Once it's ready, you can hang it on a nail in the wall!